Small Yet Precious Moment
by Amine Jem
Summary: Kana is spending yet another "vacation" at the Inuzuka household. But this time there will be more than a few obstacles to overcome than her normal "vacations" hold.


**This is a single story about Kiba Inuzuka and my character Kana. I love feed back and need any pointers I can get. This is just something I did for fun a long time ago, so I hope it's O.K. for just a fun write, thanks for reading!**

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><p>Every morning Kana wakes up to is a dog with a happy grin on his face. Well, at least every time she gets a chance to visit the Inuzuka family.<p>

"Kana! Would you get up already? It's almost noon," Kiba says, staring at the massive lump of blankets in which Kana is inside. A muffled reply makes it through the thickness. Akamaru pulls at the blankets with his teeth. Kiba sighs and walks over to where Kana is sleeping. He grabs one of the blankets at the bottom and pulls, hard. All the blankets go flying and Kana is thrown to the floor.

She glares up at the boy standing over her holding one of the blankets that had been keeping her warm. Then, just to annoy him farther, curls up on the floor. "Hey! Don't go back to sleep! Geez, how is it even possible for a human to sleep that much?" Akamaru whimpers and paws at her mud brown hair.

Kiba then picks Kana up and throws her over his shoulder and walks out of the room. "Kiba! What the heck are you doing?" Kana yells thrashing around. "Gack! Just hold still, damn it! And I had to wake you up because it's noon and we have things that have to get done!" He tries to explain as Kana repeatedly hits him in the back and elbows his head. She stops squirming and asks, "What things?" In reply, she just gets dropped on the hall floor. "Hey!" She yells, only to get a paper shoved in her face.

"Huh? What's this?"

Kiba & Kana

Finish these things before the evening:

is how the note starts...then goes on for what seems like forever with chores. "Wh...a...t. Is. This?" Kana says angrily, crumpling the edges from holding it to tight. She then turns on Kiba, "Why the hell didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"I tried, but you wouldn't budge!"

"You should try harder!"

"I yelled at you and shook you and I even kicked you for crying out loud!"

"Well, I guess I'm a heavy sleeper then," Kana says putting a finger on her chin and giving him a innocent look. "Well duh!" Kiba sighs and covers his face with a hand. "Lets just get started on all this stuff already. Hm? Where are you going?" Kana disappeared into her room again. "Hey!" He yells slamming the door open. "What? Do you want to watch me change that bad?" Kana smirks, starting to pull off her nightgown. Kiba turns red and runs out the door, fast, Akamaru at his heels. Kana laughs when they're gone and changes into her everyday clothes.

When she comes out she finds Kiba leaning against the wall next to her door. He looks up when Kana steps out of her room and turns red before looking at the floor again. "So?" Kana says, eyes laughing at him. "What's first?"

"I did not sign up for this!" Kana yells at nothing. "Why do I always get stuck doing this every time I come to visit?" Kiba just ignores her and keeps cleaning the section of yard he was given to clean of dog droppings. Kana had said those two lines at least a ten times in the last fifteen minutes they had been working. The whole time they had been working. Every time she came to stay, they had the same job to do: clean all the dog droppings up, and she always complained about how she was on vacation and she had to work.

"Quit talking to yourself and **work**, would ya?" Kiba asks turning to find Kana glaring at Akamaru who was making more to pick up. Her arms and head hang limp before she starts chasing the huge dog around the yard. He watches the two with a amused look on his face.

Kana isn't a ninja, well, was never really cut out for it. She wasn't good with blood, pain, or endurance like a ninja has to be, and, to say the least, didn't have much nerve when it came to getting into tough spots1. So she was just...normal. Her family was all talented shinobi, so she was looked down on by most members in her Clan. Even though she lives in Konoha she stays at the Inuzuka house hold a lot of the time and says she just needs a "vacation" for a while. But it's really an excuse to get away from the people who look down on her all the time. Everyone knew, but no one ever voiced it for her sake. For someone who has such a fragile heart and mind, she was good at hiding it. Acting tough and happy all the time.

After about five or so minutes of chasing Akamaru around, she stops with her hands on her knees, head down, and panting. Akamaru happily bounds over to her. Kana grabs hold around the dogs neck and drapes herself over his back. He turns his head and sticks his nose in her long hair and sniffs. "I will not forgive you for this," Kana tells him, her voice sounds muffled against his back.

After a lot more complaining and chasing Akamaru and Kiba around, they finally finished all the dog cleaning. "You know that took a lot longer than it could have, right?" Kiba asks. The two of are still working on the yard She just "humphs" and sighs dramatically. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe if **someone** hadn't kept using the bathroom it would have taken a shorter amount of time." She says throwing a look at Akamaru before continuing. "And maybe if **someone else** had helped me instead of just watching and laughing, then it would have taken a shorter time, hm?" She says looking trying to burn holes in Kiba's back . "Yeah, well maybe-!" Kiba starts. "Whatever, lets just get the rest done." Kana cuts in. He sighs, annoyed, before getting back to work.

After what seems like forever, all the chores are done. Well, half of them. Kana and Kiba settled of doing half today and half tomorrow. Today was all yard work, tomorrow is going to be all house work.

When dinner is finish and everything being cleaned up by Kana and Hana, Kiba and Akamaru went to lay in a field as the sky turns red and gold. "Man, she may not be good at being a ninja, but she's good at cooking, huh, Akamaru?" Kiba asks his dog who barks in response. "Well I guess I can at least do something good for a change." Kana appears standing next to the boy and dog pair. Kiba looks up, surprised he hadn't noticed her coming. Her hands clasped behind her back as the wind carries her hair around in wisps, a smile on her lips. He stares up at his long time friend whose face is thoughtful.

In one swift move she folds her legs under her and hit's the ground without any sound. "It's so pretty isn't it?" she comments. _**It kind of reminds me of the first time I stayed here**_, Kana thinks.

The next morning was the same as the one before. But this time Kiba manages to drag Kana out of bed a few hours before noon.

"Okay! The last thing to do is the shopping!" Kana says with a satisfied smile as she reads the list through once more. "Kiba! Do you want to come with?" She asks looking over her shoulder at Kiba, who's laying on the deck. "Sure, I got nothing better to do, anyway," He says standing. "Akamaru! Come one! We're going to go do some shopping!" Akamaru runs to catch up as they go on their way.

Kana sighs and looks up at the sky as she walks the street to the store. For once Kiba is silent as they walk. Like most days, it's sunny and warm, just the perfect kind of day when nothing could go wrong. _**Ha. Only if you don't put certain people together.**_Kana thinks as she enters the store.

Cold air hits them as they walk down the frozen food aisle. Kana glances down at the list of food items Hana had written down for her to get. Crushed ice, a few different kinds of vegetables, rice, different meats, cheese, milk, bread, apples, flour, sugar etc., the normal with a few exceptions like "crushed ice" and "apples." There's a apple orchard near the house and most of the time we have huge blocks of ice that are crushed by someone, most of the time whoever is on hand. Most of the time for when someone gets sick or for animals. Hana is a vet after all.

They head up to the counter to pay. "Kana!" Kaiji smiles as they walk up. Over the years, Kana would go shopping for both her family and the Inuzuka's, so she ended up getting to know Kaiji, a boy two years older than herself, seventeen. He had worked there since he was about twelve, and developed a bit of a crush on her. But Kana being Kana, was oblivious to anything that had to do with that strange thing called "love," and failed to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Kiba, feeling a little jealous of how her face would light up when ever she talks to Kaiji, slams the huge package of crushed ice down on the counter, making Kana jumps in surprise and stares at him. "Kiba," Kaji says with a cold edge to it. The two boys glare at each other for a few moments. Kana, swearing she saw ice crystals in the air and not sure what's going on, says, "We should get the ice home before it melts!" with a smile. "Right." They both say in unison, glaring for a brief moment.

"Alright, there you go."

"'Kay! Thanks Kaiji!" Kana says waving as they head back home. As they walk away, Kiba swore that Kaiji was trying to burn holes in the back of his head. It made him smirk knowing he was pissing him off just by walking with Kana, more or less going home with her. "What's with the two of you?" Kana asks when they're far enough away. "What do you mean?"

She frowns. "Well, the way the two of you were looking at each other seemed to read..." she pauses for a moment to think of the right word. "... 'you're going down'?" Kiba laughs earning a confused look. "Ah, nothing, nothing. When you're confused it makes you look kinda cute for once."

"'For once'?" She echoes, giving him a dirty look and smacking the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?" He asks rubbing where she hit him. "If you didn't add in the 'kinda' and 'for once' that would have been sweet. But what can I say? You're dense when it comes to girls!" Kana explains. _**So you say I'm dense? Have you ever met yourself?**_He wonders.

As Kana puts all the things away, Kiba's back lounging on the deck. She rolls her eyes and says, "How 'bout Ichiraku? I'm sure Naruto won't mind if you come along!"

"Nah, I'm beat for today." She frowns at his back. "Some ninja you are!" He turns around to give her some witty comment about how she couldn't be a ninja if she wanted to, but she was already gone. "Huh. If anything she gets points on how sneaky she can be."

"Yum~! Ramen is good~! Especially after a long day of work~!" Kana sings as she and Naruto wait for their food. Naruto laughs. "Was Kiba not helping you again?" She looks over at him with a bright smile. "Nope! That's not it! It's just good to be around someone else for a change when you've been stuck with the same person for what seems like forever!"

"Here you go! Enjoy!" Kana leans over the steaming bowl of heaven and breaths in the smell, sighing in satisfaction. "Thank you for the food!" Before Kana even finishes one bowl, Naruto's on his third. Kana laughs and pats Naruto's stomach saying, "How do you pack that all in and not get fat?" When Naruto finishes chewing, he replies, "When you're a ninja you never get fat!"

"Did I just hear...someone say..." Both Kana and Naruto slap down money and run away before Choji could see them. "Okay...I...did not...see him..." Kana says between pants. "N-neither di-id I!" Naruto stammers. When she catches her breath she tells him, "I should head back now. Bye Naruto!" she waves. "Okay, see you later Kana!" He calls back.

She decides to take a short cut through some alleyways. It's already getting dark and the back roads are the fastest home. But not the smartest way to go.

As Kana walks she hugs herself and hums, trying to make the darkness in these streets go away, but it isn't working. Shadows seem to moves in the pitch black night. Shadows that shouldn't be there when there's no light. Kana had never liked the dark that night brought with it. Mainly because when she was little, her parents hadn't made any effort to comfort her when she was scarred. When she had a nightmare, they would brush her off and tell her to go back to bed. They weren't the ideal parents, and she didn't think they would ever be, but none the less she loves them.

The dark forms of men came into view after a few minutes of walking. She suddenly felt like she had eaten to much ramen and needed to make room. But it really wasn't that, it was the creeping reminder that recently there had been talk in the village that two girls had disappeared in these alleys,_**Wonderful I just now remember**_**,** Kana thinks feeling sick. They both never came home one night, and the next day there corpses had been found with stab wounds and cuts all over, and as some people had rumored, there had been signs of rape on one of the girls.

She could feel her pulse quicken and her breath become short. Slowly taking steps backward until she came to a place where there were four walkways. She quietly steps sideways into the one on her right, as she turns to run, something stops her. Strong arms wrap around her and as she opens her mouth to scream for help, a hand clamps down on her mouth. She looks up at the face of the man holding onto her. In this alleyway there's a shaft of light coming from a street lamp not far off. He looks to be in his early twenties with light brown hair and dark eyes, his build is like any of the boys his age in Konoha, slim but a muscled frame. He turns her around and pushes her hard in the direction of the gang of men.

When they step into the circle of men, all she can see of them is their silhouettes. "Wha'd ya bring us t'night Toke?" one of the men asks the man-Toke-who's holding Kana. "Ah, she's a pretty one, yes. Good work. Hey girly, what's your name?" It's one of those times when you're brain is thinking a million miles a second and you can't even start to understand what's being said to you. "I said what's your name, dammit!" the man repeats slapping Kana across the face so hard tears welled in her eyes and quiet sobs are choked back. "Huh! We don't **need** your name, lets do it men." All around there were deep laughs. Kana could feel Toke tighten his grip on her, thinking it was to hold her down, she turned her head slightly so she could see him. His expression is tight and his whole body ridged. _**This guy's different than the rest of them, she thinks, I'm done for aren't I? There's no way I can get out of this. No one's awake at this hour and if I try to scream they'll stop me!**_

Words from a long time ago echo through her mind, _**"What a worthless girl."**_

"_**How could a girl like that be born into an elite Clan such as the Akariko. She can't even defend herself against her siblings. What a pathetic and worthless child."**_

Kana forces her eyes to close as tight as they can, trying to keep back the tears that threaten to spill over. _**If I start crying now**_, she tells herself, _**I won't be able to stop. I can't cry. I won't cry**_**. **The taste of blood touches her tongue as her teeth cut through her lip she had been bitting.

"Lets see if we can make her cry for mercy, see how much it takes." someone says, a sneer clear in their voice. The one in front of Kana pulls out a knife. He pulls her sleeve back and slowly digs the tip into the skin on the underside of her arm. Her body's telling her to scream and kick and try to runaway! But a part of her mind is telling her to stay and show them that she isn't afraid of them. _**Oh, who am I kidding? I'm terrified!**_So terrified in fact that her body couldn't move even if she wanted to. Mute and paralyzed. If there was one thing Kana hated about her self, it's her fear. How scared she gets when the rest of her family is fearless. Not once had she ever done something she was scared of. Not once had she faced her fear. They were all right. She would never be a good ninja.

Even the sight of her own blood dripping down her arm could make her faint. "Oh? Lets try somewhere else then." He smirked. The knife was brought to her cheek and her flesh was cut slowly and painfully once again. The warm liquid runs down her face slowly. "Get on with it! This is boring!" Someone calls out. Another man walks up and takes the knife from the other. He lifts up the skirt of her dress until her shorts show. Without hesitation or the slow way the other did, he slashes a deep gash into her thigh. Kana would have fallen if not for the grip Toke has on her, holding her up now. More gashes are made. A few more on her thighs, her arms, her right side.

By this time the blood loss was just about to the point that she's almost blacking out. _**Please...someone...help me...**_everything blurred and disappeared. All sight and sound gone, all feeling numb.

"Damn, the girls out already?" Tezaki, the thug now holding the bloody knife, asks. "Whatever, lets just take her little girls innocence while she's out? Then well get rid of her for good." The other men whooped with laughter and excitement. Tezaki orders Toke to put the girl down, but he just stands there, holding the passed out girl. _**No more. I can't take anymore.**_ He thinks. _**Have I really sunk so low as to help in murder and sex offence? I can't do this. The third girl already...this one, I will not let them take.**_

The next time she opens her eyes, the beeping of a heart monitor is the only sound in the otherwise silent room. A hospital. It hurts just breathing, and no one else is in the room. _**It looks like I was given another chance, huh?**_After what seems like forever and a painful eternity, Kana makes it into a sitting position, slumping forward so it didn't take much effort, although not the most comfortable, but the less energy consuming.

A bandage covers the cut on her cheek, while the rest of the wounds, the ones on her arms and legs, are wrapped tightly with thick bandages. The gash in her side is the worst, the deepest. Whenever she takes a breath of air, a stabbing pain throbs through her whole body, making her hold herself and go ridged. This was by far the worst pain she had ever felt. She thought small cuts hurt, this was small cut multiplied by a million plus. Even the smallest movement makes her wish that she could will herself into unconsciousness.

The steady beep of the heart monitor speeds up every second she continues to sit up. None to gracefully, Kana lets her heavy body fall limp back onto the bed, bouncing as she did. For a few minutes it feels like her body's being pierced by hot knifes. Like the one used to get her into this white room. She turns her head to look out the single window, hoping for a view of blue sky and white clouds. But she is met with a gray sky with only glimpses of the blue behind the gray back drop. It reminded her of a cloak her elder brother had brought home once after a mission, a very faded black with rips from where tree branches had tried to slow his pace.

With a last question as to who saved her, Kana drops off into the darkness of deep sleep.

"When will you wake up?" Kiba wonders aloud. It had been three days since he had first smelled Kana's blood. As soon as he had caught wind of it, he went to find her. The stench of blood had been far to much to be just a scratch. He had found her being carried in the arms of a brown haired man, who was just as much covered in her blood as his own. He had seen that she was taken to the hospital. But her sent was still in the air. Kiba had ended up tracking it all the way to the dark back alleys of Konoha. He found many men, all unconscious. In one of the mens hands was a knife with Kana's blood covering it. He had been more angry at himself for letting her go out to meet Naruto alone, instead of taking her invitation and going along. If he had, she wouldn't have been hurt.

Kiba gently picks up Kana's closest hand and holds it between his own. "I shouldn't have let you go alone," he whispers, bringing his lips to the tips of her fingers. With that one small gesture, a overwhelming need washes over him. Knowing it better than to give in, he places her hand back on the bed. _**I can't do this.**_

Akamaru meets him on the hospital steps, anxious to know how his friend is. "She's alright, Akamaru," Kiba reassure the dog. "Lets go train for now, I need something else to focus on." So for the next few hours human and dog train.

The sunset was beautiful. Kiba sat on the grass staring at the sky. Not even a week ago had he watched the same sene with Kana and Akamaru. For the long time he had known Kana, he had always felt drawn to her, but refused to acknowledge that and convinced himself that they were just best friends. But could he really say that anymore? He had always been jealous whenever Kana talked to Kaiji, he couldn't stand not being able to help her when she was hurting, and that night three days ago. When he realized what might have happened to her, he was filled with cold terror. Even when he found her he was worried, of course about her wounds, but also that something else could have happened. And that man, he had seemed to have protected her, but he couldn't help but feel a burning anger when he saw another man protecting Kana, when he should have been there, could have been there.

"Ha. Why can't I do anything right?" He mutters, a self pitting smile curving his lips.

It had been almost two days since Kana had awoken the first time. Awakening now was far less painful. This time it was dark out. The wall clock read 6 o'clock. This time, she felt far more energetic and wants to walk around. Laying in a hospital bed for such a long amount of time tends to make muscles cramped up and weak.

She sit up, swinging her legs over the edge of the firm bed. She grimaces. _**I hate hospitals.**_

On wobbling legs, she paces the rooms length. There were still parts of that night that she could not remember. _**All I can seem to remember is a knife**_, she shutters before finishing the thought, _**cutting through my flesh.**_ A muffled whisper keeps repeating, one that couldn't be translated just through thought alone. Memory of the man who had been holding her against his body, against her struggles, Toke, was bright in her mind. She hadn't heard him speak, but the feeling of just somehow knowing for certain pushes her to believe that the untranslatable whisper had come from him. That he had said something to her when she had been unconscious, yet she somehow had heard it.

She feels like pounding her head against a wall. Why couldn't she remember the one thing she wanted to? She really would not have minded forgetting the other events that had taken place.

Voices in the hall outside her door sent her diving for her bed, she doesn't want anyone to find that she was awake, not yet. She doesn't understand why, but she just didn't. She whips the covers up over her body as she flops down onto the bed. Trying best to calm her breath to the rhythm the deep sleep, and her body relaxes.

A voice floats into the room as the door opens. "Phew, those nurses sure have a lot of questions, don't they?" Kiba. Her immediate thought is, _**how often has he come to check on me? **_

He sits in the chair next to her bed. After what seems hours, he lifts one of her hands and gently holds it between both of his. She can feel him shift closer to her, can feel his hot breath on her cheek. What is he doing? Kiba had never gotten this close to Kana before. So what changes that now? His breath catches than quickens. His hand on hers tightens. Kana feels her face heats and her pulse speeds up. Slowly, cautiously, Kiba closes he space between their mouths. It isn't like anything either of them had experienced before. A place on the body that was next to never touched, pressed against an others. Soft lips that fit so perfectly together. It shouldn't feel natural, but it does. Somehow right. His free hand slides up to the side of Kana's neck as he kisses her harder, almost forgetting she is asleep.

Kana reaches up to the back of his head and pulls him closer. Shocked by the sudden touch, Kiba moves back enough to see the face of the girl in front of him. Her blue eyes seem to laugh at him, his face burning red. Ignoring the nervous beat of her heart and the fluttering in her stomach, Kana slowly leans up slightly above her pillow and places her hands on the base of Kiba's neck with her elbow propped on his shoulder while her other went to the back of his head, guiding his lips back to hers. Kiba immediately braces her back and head, making the kiss deeper, and upon instinct, presses his tongue against her lips. She opens her mouth to him without second thought.

A few days later Kana is released from the hospital. Finally comfortable in her own bed again. Every one of the last days in the hospital had been spent with Kiba, and he was also the one to pick her up when she was released. Those days were just the start. There will always be much more story to be told. Every night, as Kana slips into sleep, the memory of Toke's whisper is always there. The quiet mumble is never remembered by morning, but is heard.

_I am sorry. Forgive me for my wrong. _

_For my wrong, I will protect you from these men._

Kana has already forgiven him, knowing that he took her away from the savage men who hurt her. But, she has convinced herself that if that day had never happened, she would not be in the place she is now. She is thankful for every cut and scar.

Everything happens for a reason.


End file.
